some say president obama had an off night. tom fitzgerald is tracking all of the reaction. fitz, the president himself came out swinging today? >> reporter: he did, will. the president took on the role of the spin master in chief. speaking in colorado, he mocked mitt romney's policies, challenged his facts and pointed out differences between what mitt romney said last night and during the campaign. the problem, though, is that a much smaller group of people saw the president's appearance today than the 50 million who watched last night as mitt romney gave the political performance of his life. >> reporter: fresh off of what many supporters viewed as a disappointing debate, president obama is trying to hit reset. >> when i got on to the stage, i met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be mitt romney. >> reporter: speaking in denver, the president argued mitt romney's debate performance was big on style but short on facts. >> the real mitt romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts to favor the wealthy. last night, he s